After a cup of tea, Gu Yanxi finally spoke up to break the silent but not awkward atmosphere, "Xiaoliu is fine."
Hua Zhi refilled her tea without looking up, "When Mr. Lu said it was okay, did he mean we can go back or can we stay?"
"Stay. Uncle Huang asked Xiaoliu to follow me and he won't ask any more questions."
"Even if he was trying to protect Ah Jian, I still think he was ruthless." Hua Zhi poured out the remaining tea in the teacup and put it aside, then looked up at Gu Yanxi. "For Ah Jian, this is a disguised form of exile."
Gu Yanxi smiled. She protected him right away. Xiaoliu, who came from the palace, must have seen Ah Zhi's weakness a long time ago and used it well. "Uncle Emperor meant to let Xiaoliu take my place in the future."
Hua Zhi raised her eyebrows, "This is quite different from Mr. Lu's decision."
"I am the leader of the Seven Stars Division, but I can also take care of the affairs of the court. I just need to learn everything I need to learn, and I will be able to sit firmly in any position."
This made a lot of sense. Hua Zhi actually felt that she couldn't refute it. How could she argue? The example was right in front of her.
"I heard that you are planning to lay ground dragons for the clan school?"
Hua Zhi was not surprised that he knew about this. He was probably well aware of every little move in the Hua family. In the past, she would definitely feel disgusted and feel that she was being monitored, but today was different. This kind of protection was exactly what she needed.
"It's cold in the winter, my fingers are so stiff that I can't even hold a pen, and the children can't concentrate."
"Have you found anyone?"
Seeing Ah Zhi looking at him, Gu Yanxi smiled and said, "I'll have someone do it, and you don't have to worry about other problems."
"I couldn't ask for more." With a room full of women, Hua Zhi was afraid that her family members would be offended, and she was also cautious in preventing the wives and concubines in the family from having other thoughts when they saw the boy from another family. She had originally planned to wait for Wu Da and the others to finish building the cellar on the farm over there, and then let him learn a few tricks to take care of this matter as well.
Hua Zhi remembered something, stood up and walked around the desk, took out a few banknotes from the drawer and placed them in front of Gu Yanxi, "I should have returned them to Mr. Lu a long time ago, but I bought a shop this year, and I only recently had some money left, so I'll return these first."
Each silver note was worth one thousand taels, and there were five in total. This was just to pay off the debt for the gold bars. However, Hua Zhi did not plan to use money to pay for the two cloaks. She knew what good things were and knew that they were worth a lot of money. She planned to return the money after collecting the good furs. It would not be good to take advantage of others too much.
Gu Yanxi didn't dwell on this matter, he knew that Azhi had no shortage of money.
"I have a business deal and I would like to seek Mr. Lu's protection."
"The one you made on your farm?"
"yes."
Gu Yanxi stroked the warm tea and said, "I'll help you get in touch with the Lu family."
"I hope this deal is under the protection of Mr. Lu." Hua Zhi's expression remained unchanged, but her tone was so firm that Gu Yanxi was a little surprised. "This deal is too profitable. I don't trust anyone else."
Gu Yanxi, who was trusted, was immediately flattered and agreed without saying a word.
He originally planned to use this opportunity to connect the Hua family and the Lu family. His protection would not require Ah Zhi to pay anything, he would give her as much as she wanted. If they could connect with the Lu family, the Hua family would have more protection in the future.
He was very familiar with the Lu family's situation. When his mother passed away, the compensation given by his uncle was quite generous, and his uncle was promoted two levels. However, no matter how high the position was, it was only a nominal one. However, given the rank, and with the support of the Duke of Anguo, no one dared to look down on him.
There are currently six dukes in the Daqing Dynasty, and the only one who holds real power is Duke Dingguo, whose surname is Gu.
The Lu family has not been good at business for generations, and in recent years they have only dared to bring in money from the farm and dared not get involved in business in the capital. However, living in the capital is not easy, and the number of social interactions is huge. The family is already a little stretched, and he can only give more generous gifts during the New Year. If he really wants to give something at other times, his grandfather will not accept it.
"As for the Lu family, if Mr. Lu is trustworthy, I am willing to give up 20% of the profit of the shop on Zhuangyuan Street to seek his protection."
"There is no need to do that..."
Hua Zhi shook her head. "There are so many businesses in Beijing, and every family has a complicated network of relationships behind it. If it's not the Lu family, I will look for another one."
Given the Hua family's current situation, they cannot protect a business that makes too much money, and Hua Zhi has only been doing big business in her two lifetimes.
Gu Yanxi also understood that what she said made sense, so she took out the five thousand taels of silver note that she had just put away, and said, "This, just think of it as paying for the Lu family, and you can give the Lu family dividends when the time comes."
Hua Zhi thought for a moment and took out three of them. "It's only 20% of the bonus. Mr. Lu should have confidence in the business I'm doing."
"Of course. I'll have someone from the Lu family come and talk to you later."
"I think Mr. Lu can represent the Lu family."
Gu Yanxi was slightly stunned and then understood what she meant. Yes, if Ah Zhi was willing to come forward and make friends with others, she would not have been unknown for so many years.
"Okay, I'll make the decision."
Hua Zhi leaned forward slightly to express her thanks and poured him tea again.
Gu Yanxi looked at the tea cans lined up on the table and said meaningfully, "Even if Ah Zhi doesn't do anything else, this tea is a big business."
"If Mr. Lu likes, I will teach you how to stir-fry tea."
"Azhi should know that this business is very profitable."
"My grandfather once bought a small tea garden for me. All these tea leaves come from there. After the garden was confiscated, all the remaining tea leaves are here." Hua Zhi looked up, smiling, "If I want to make money, there are many ways. I don't intend to let this one be tainted with the smell of money, but I won't stop others from making money with it."
Being pissed off, Gu Yanxi felt very guilty, "I'll go get that tea garden back."
Hua Zhi shook her head. "Only when you have nothing to worry about can you be in the mood to satisfy your spiritual world. With my current state of mind, the tea I make will be mushy. I won't waste it. I'm not kidding. If Mr. Lu wants to make money from this, I'll teach you how."
Gu Yanxi saw that she was really serious about what she said. After thinking for a while, he shook his head and said, "I can't take care of it for now. Let's put it aside and talk about it later."
Hua Zhi did not insist. After she paid back the money, she also repaid some of the favors she owed. She was in a good mood.
"Who's outside? Go call Ah Jian over."
Madam Su's voice sounded, "Yes, I will go right away."
The Sixth Prince was wearing brand new clothes. He came in and called people obediently. Fudong fed him well with good food and drink every day. His face was rosy, his complexion looked very good, and he was in high spirits. It was obvious that he was living a very comfortable life in the Hua family.
Seeing him like this, Gu Yanxi felt that what he was planning might be possible.
"Uncle Emperor has allowed you to follow me, Cheng Qian. If you don't want to go back to the palace, you don't have to."
The Sixth Prince's heart started beating wildly when he heard this. He was of course happy that he didn't have to go back, but he was also sad. It was clearly not his fault, but in the end, he was the one who couldn't go back.
He didn't miss that inhumane place. What made him sad was that no one cared where he was. He didn't matter much when he was in the palace, and he didn't matter much after he left the palace. He was like the carved railings and jade bricks that could be seen everywhere in the palace. He looked precious, but not important.
PS: It's updated late, and I have made some adjustments to the plot. Girls don't expect climaxes every day, Kong Kong will die of exhaustion. The story must have a lull period, and Kong Kong explained many things that don't need to be laid out in detail during the lull period. There is no spamming. I really need to change my habit of burying the threads. It's too tiring to reel them in, and I'm afraid I'll forget. Please caress me.